Life Without Her
by Bright Jade0242
Summary: Not a death story. Harry and Hermione gets in a fight and their friendship is broken. At school, Hermione teams up with the most unlikely people. Harry suddenly feels jealous.  Fr/Hr D/Hr story much better than sum.not exctly H/Hr
1. Why So Sirius?

"Harry?" A voice whispered, rather timidly, from behind the door.

_Great, they're scared of me. _Harry thought, laying in his bed in the dark. Ever since Dumbledore escorted him to the Burrow, Harry had locked himself up in the bedroom that he and Ron shared. He never came out to eat. Someone-Mrs. Weasley, Ginny, or Hermione—always brought it up. Only time he ever shown his face out the door is when he thought it was an emergency use for the bathroom. He again ignored Hermione's voice. He checked the bedside clock. _7:00 sharp. As always. _

"Harry, it's your dinner." She urged softly again.

"I'm not hungry."

"Nonsense. Now seriously, open this door."

"Just leave it outside; I'll get it later when I'm hungry."

"Harry," Her voice is now serious. "I will hex this door into obliteration if you don't open up."'

Taken aback for this new tone, he answered. "Fine. I'm coming, 'Mione."

She answered with something like, "Glad you still remember my name."

He cracked open the door. He winced slightly from the hallway's bright light. Then he saw Hermione. She eagerly lifted up the tray of food.

"Here, I'll take it." Cautiously trying to open the door no more than necessary, he reached his hands out for the tray. Hermione's smile disappeared and she took a step back, staring directly at Harry. Instinctively, Harry whipped around with his wands out, ready to attack. Yet nothing jumped at him, nothing out of the ordinary. He narrowed his eyes but then quickly thought of the Orders' protective spells.

"Jeez, 'Mione," He started to turn around. "You almost gave me a heart attack from your—

WHAM!

BONK!

Hermione had jerked the door wide open, slamming it into Harry's head in the process. He stumbled over and cursed under his breath. He rubbed the spot on his head.

"Hermione, what the hell?" He squinted at the figure in the doorway; the light blinded him. She walked in and set the tray on the table. Then she crouched in front of where Harry laid.

"It's called light." She snapped, noticing his squinting eyes. "Perhaps you haven't seen it in a while."

Hermione stood up but still lend Harry a hand. He took it, slightly annoyed. Up on his feet, he realized that one) Hermione still hasn't' left and two) this has been the longest interaction he's had with anybody in a while. He preferred being along these days.

"So how's life being cooped up in this cell-you-call-room?" Hermione asked cheerfully, perched on his bed. She made no intention to leave.

"Look, 'Mione. I love you and everything but I need some alone time right now. Do you mind?" said Harry, expecting her to leave.

"Yes, I do." She said in an Umbridge-sweet voice. "And I'm not leaving." Harry raised an eyebrow, somewhat amused.

"Hermione, listen—"He started but she cut him off, rising off the bed.

"No you listen, Harry." She walked toward him, the sweetness gone.

"You've been cooped up here ever since you arrived! You haven't spoken to anybody. Now that I think about it, this is probably the longest conversation you've had with anybody. You haven't come out at all: not to eat, not to talk—"

She wrinkled her nose and raised an eyebrow,

"—and apparently not to shower."

True, he always tried to stay in the bathroom with the shortest time possible to avoid conversations. But he does _go _to the bathroom yet this doesn't seem like a good time to contradict.

"—You don't let anyone in except for Ron since he sleeps here. But he told me, you won't even talk to him! Harry, what's your problem?" Her voice rising.

"Well," Harry found his own voice rising.

"It seems like _**I**_am the only person that remembered Sirius died just a couple weeks ago. It seems like _**I**_ am the **only one** grieving while all you guys don't even seem to have a care in the world!"

He knew he was exaggerating but he didn't care anymore. Venting his anger felt good. Hermione's eyes teared up from the sudden harshness in his voice.

"OH , we've only met Sirius for 2 years. We don't grieve over him!" Harry imitated in a high pitched voice.

"Harry, we didn't say that. How can you even think that we do?" Hermione countered. He ignored her.

"Well, I am grieving while none of you guys care—"

"SO THAT'S WHAT YOU THINK?" Hermione burst in an outrage. "YOU THINK YOU'RE THE ONLY ONE WHO CARES, HUH? YOU SAY YOU'RE THE ONLY ONE WHO MOURNS? SO YOU THINK EVERYONE HAS ONLY NONE SIRIUS FOR ONLY TWO YEARS? God, you have been cooped up here way too long. We all care for Sirius too you know."

"But Hermione, I LOST my parents, now I lost my godfather! See, you wouldn't understand—"

"Oh, I wouldn't understand? I wouldn't understand?" Her voice shrill. "You're not the only one who lost Mr. and Mrs. Potter. You're not the only one who lost Sirius! What about LUPIN? HAVE YOU EVEN THOUGHT OF HIM? He went to SCHOOL with Sirius and your dad! HOW DO YOU THINK HE FEELS NOW? HUH? HE HAS LOST EVERYONE! JAMES POTTER DEAD, SIRIUS BLACK DEAD, PETER PETTIGREW IS AS GOOD AS DEAD—"

With hearing Hermione saying it aloud, Harry burst too.

"SHUT UP! JUST SHUT UP!"

"DON'T YOU DARE TELL ME TO SHUT UP, HARRY JAMES POTTER! DON'T YOU DARE!"

A rumble sounded from outside the door." _Probably the all the Weasleys trying to find the source of the shouting."_ Harry thought.

"MIONE, I keep thinking that it's MY FAULT that Sirius died! MY FAULT! If I hadn't let Voldemort take over my mind, if I hadn't played exactly into his hands—"

"Ok, so you blame yourself now too? Huh? WELL, THAT JOB'S ALREADY TAKEN BY TONKS! She blames herself too you know! If she hadn't finished off Bellatrix-THAT'S WHAT SHE THINKS! She can't even metamorph correctly now? OK?" Hermione cried angrily. They are almost nose to nose now. Mrs. Weasley, Ginny, Ron, and Lupin appeared in the doorway.

"We thought we heard voices—oh!" Mrs. Weasley started. Hermione interrupted her, snapping back at Harry.

"SO HAVE YOU THOUGHT OF LUPIN? OF TONKS? THE REST OF THE ORDER? OR HAVE YOU BEEN ONLY THINKING OF YOURSELF AND YOUR STUPID EGO?"

"MY EGO? MY EGO! HERMIONE, YOU DID NOT JUST SAY THAT! YOU DID NOT JUST SAY THAT!"

"Now now, calm down—"Mrs. Weasley tried again.

"WELL MAYBE I DID!" Hermione argued.

"MY PARENTS DIED! I SURVIVED! I SAW HIM WHEN I WAS ELEVEN! I SAW HIM AGAIN COME BACK TO FULL POWER WHEN I WAS FOURTEEN! WE ENCOUNTERED A PROPHECY ABOUT ME A MONTH AGO! NOW I'M PRETTY SURE VOLDEMORT—"

The entire room, which consisted of the all the Weasleys and the Order that stayed at the Burrow, winced except for Harry and Hermione.

"—WANTS MY ASS KICKED! I NEVER ASKED FOR THIS TO HAPPEN! EVERYTHING HAPPENED TO ME BY CHANCE! AND YOU CALL THAT MY EGO?"

"Oh, don't give ME that BULLSHIT-"

"Hermione! Watch your tongue! Alright now! Both of you, calm down—"Mrs. Weasley's voice was stern. Now half the house, including the Order, piled into the room, watching this harangue. None of them tried to stop this however. _POP! _Fred and George appeared on either side of Ginny.

"Hello, we've heard a catfight is in town—"

Hermione's rising voice drowned out the rest of their sentence. "Number ONE! You're not scared anymore! YOU know what you're up against! So ALL that SHIT about being afraid of VOLDEMORT after ASS is a LIE! It's a USELESS EXCUSSE!" "YOU DON'T-" Harry started but Hermione interrupted.

"IM NOT DONE YET! AND NUMBER TWO! DON'T TELL ME THAT ALL OF THIS WAS BY CHANCE! I HEARD THAT LAST YEAR! PLUS, I BET MY LIFE THAT YOU THOUGHT THE EXACT OPPOSITE WHEN RON AND I BECAME PREFECTS LAST YEAR!" Hermione suddenly jumped in a higher pitch, clearly mocking Harry.

"I'VE done SOOO much more than Hermione or Ron! IM DEFINETELY more a prefect than Ron ever is because I HAVE seen SOO much more. I HAVE experienced SOO much more." She returned back to her regular voice.

"And that's your ego." A fire in her eyes diminished the previous tears. Harry stayed silent, trying to control the fury escalating inside of him. He wanted to blow up at her, to cuss at her, to silent her and control her mouth! He mentally urged Hermione to shut up.

But she clearly didn't receive the transmission.

"YOU'RE probably telling me that I don't understand. That I don't understand about Voldemort. That I don't understand about Sirius. That I don't understand about your pain or pressure." Hermione lowered her voice, trying to steady her voice and keep it even. Still, it still sounds deadly. "Well, let me tell you this, Harry, I KNOW that I don't understand, I KNOW that I don't understand ANY of it! BUT, YOURE NOT TRYING TO EXPLAIN TO ME! You think that you're in this ALONE! WELL YOURE NOT! You have ME! You have Ron! You have the Order!"

"It's not all about you, you know! You know what I think?"

Silence.

"I think Sirius wouldn't have wanted you to be cooped up in her because of him, especially since he experienced it last year."

Harry didn't know what blew it; maybe it's the thought of Sirius being alive. But, at hearing Sirius's name, he grabbed Hermione's shoulders and shook her frantically. Fear suddenly clouded her eyes. _POP! _Harry, ignoring the pop, found his voice again.

"NO YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND! DON'T YOU DARE TO TALK LIKE YOU WOULD KNOW SIRIUS!"

Large hands pulled him away from Hermione. He saw Fred pull Hermione back too. All of the rage clouded his mind.

"LET GO OF ME!LET GO!" Harry struggled uselessly. George pinned his arms behind his back.

"You okay?" Through the blood pounding through his ears, he heard Fred ask Hermione. He saw her nod.

"YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND ANYTHING! YOU STILL GOT YOUR PARENTS! YOU UNDERSTAND NOTHING OF ME! I CAN'T BELIEVE THEY CALL YOU SMART! SO DO ME A FAVOR AND STOP ACTING LIKE YOU KNOW EVERYTHING! "

Hermione stayed silent and took a step toward him.

"You know Snape's right for once, you're an annoying KNOW-IT-ALL-"

Another step.

"—BOOKWORM—"

"—MUDBL—"

Gasps aroused around. Harry stopped himself before finishing. He stopped struggling. He saw her widening. Hermione was only a few feet away from him. Her eyes, icy cold and unfamiliarly alien, met his.

"Oh…no…you…didn't…" She said in a low, dangerous voice.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean-"

SLAP!

Gasps aroused again. The slap reverberated the house. His glasses were knocked to the floor. The aftershock stung his cheek. He wouldn't meet her eyes.

"I," Hermione dropped to a deadly whisper that only the twins and Harry could hear.

"Only came here to relieve yourself from your grieving. To let you know you're not alone. To let you know that there's a light at the end of this dark tunnel. To let you know Im still here. Well, apparently, I know that was a waste of time." She grabbed Harry's face to face her and meet her eyes.

"Potter."

With that, she whipped her hair in his face and strode out. Everyone stood there in an awkward silence. Then one by one left the room. George released Harry and excited. Yet, Harry stood there limp, replaying what just happened.


	2. Talking to a Wall

Chapter 2:

**I know most people skip this part because it's the author talking but plz read this, that way I'll feel like you guys are talking to me by commenting and I can talk back. **

**HELP!**

**I can never name chapter names. So PLEASE help me name my chapters. But I have a certain criteria: they have to be lyrics or the title of a popular song/parody song. Or they can be also famous quotes from movies. Please come up with something and review it! I named Chapter 1 "Why So Sirius?" But if you guys can come up with better ones, please comment it/review it. **

**Btw, if you guys haven't checked out that song on YouTube: "why So Sirius?" you should. **

Harry felt sick to his stomach. He was angry: angry with himself, angry with the words he chose, angry with everyone. If he could take that back, he would. _Oh, I'd do anything for a time-turner right now._ He thought. How did even say that? How did he even think of the word? Of all the insults in the world, he had to choose that one. Of course, it had to be the most foul, the one that guarantees a friendship breakup. He felt dirty and disgusted with himself. He wish he could say that Voldemort had taken over his body and spoke those words, not him. That way, he could blame somebody else.

_That sounds like a true Gryffindor. Not taking the blame, not owning up to the trouble you caused. _A sarcastic voice nagged at him. _ I swear, I'm getting more and more Slytherin as the time goes on. First the word and now my mind. _

He wanted to fall asleep, wake up, and find that everything had been a dream.

Then he thought of Hermione. She was right. Being cooped up here is not healthy. Bottling grief and anger in this room is not healthy at all. Look what cost him: a friend. She might not even speak—no, she definitely will not speak to him ever again. He almost wanted to blame her, be angry with her, for provoking him to insult back. But, she was right. He was angry for her to be right again. Yet, at the same time, Harry was grateful that Hermione woke him up from a trance. Then, realization hit, Hermione's probably not his friend anymore. All those good times that she had saved him at Hogwarts will disappear. This is one of those end of the world feelings.

He wanted to say in the room for the rest of the summer in shame. But he thought better of himself. The harangue would've been for nothing and that would've meant he lost a magnificent friend for nothing. He stayed in the rest of the night, ignored Ron as always, and stayed in all the next day. But, he realized he can't hide forever so he opened the door when Ginny knocked for dinner.

"Wow. I haven't talked to you in a while, probably since the Ministry." Ginny said, clambering down steps. "It's quite funny though, since you stayed at my house for the past 2 weeks."

"Yeah, woah, two weeks. Already? Really?"

Ginny nodded.

"Sorry about that. Err…what's for dinner?" Harry tried to steer away any conversation that might be about his recent depression issues.

"Dunno. I think we're a bit late. We kinda disputed right when dinner started about whether to call you or not. Everyone should be set by now." Ginny said as the pair set down the last few steps.

"We?" Harry couldn't imagine Mrs. Weasley being so unwelcomed and not wanting him down for dinner. But after what happened yesterday, she might think differently about him. On the other hand, Ginny doesn't act different at all.

"It's Hermione." Replied Ginny as the pair walked into the kitchen to a full table. Mr. Weasley sat at the head and Bill, who's staying over, sat at the opposite. All chatting ceased when they intruded and all eyes fixed on them, except for one. Hermione chewed and stared casually at her food. Harry felt a pang in his chest. Ginny quickly motioned a seat at the end of the table next to Ron. She sat in the last seat across from Harry, next to Hermione.

"Well, um…what a surprise, Harry." Mrs. Weasley stated.

Awkward silence. More stares.

"YAY!" Fred and George murmured softly, waving their hands in the air.

Then, just like that, dinner talk resumed. Ginny, on the orders of Mrs. Weasley, piled a mountain of food on his plate. He and Bill started a conversation on Bill's adventures with goblins and , awkwardly, about Fleur Delacour. Harry remembered her from his 4th year during the Tri-Wizard Tournament. She now works with Bill in Gringotts. And, Bill seemed very interested in her. Ron updated Harry on everything from the Chudley Cannons lastest game to Fred's and George's new joke shop. All the while, Harry constantly glanced at Hermione, whom he sat diagonally across from, trying to catch her eye. He knew it was a dead chance to apologize but he had to try. But, Hermione wouldn't even accidentally look in his direction. It's not like he's even there. She talks to Bill, converse with Ginny, argues with Ron, and chas animatedly with Fred and George, whom sat on the on the other side of her. That was strange. Last time he knew, Hermione and the twins weren't exactly best friends. Maybe with the twins not in school changes a perspective. Still, Harry felt like he missed out a lot. Dinner stayed like that until the end.

"Look, I don't know about you, mate." Ron said to Harry as the both of them traipsed upstairs to their rooms. "But I think this year will be different. And I don't' want to choose sides between my friends."

Harry arched an eyebrow.

"Hey look, all I'm saying is that I agree with Hermione. You shouldn't' have burst out like that."

"And you think I haven't been regretting it ever since!"

"Have you tried even to apologize?"

"Ron, she acts like I'm not here."

"And I can't blame her! Look, you need to know what you did is bad, real bad. Coming from Malfoy is normal, coming you is catastrophic."

"I know, Ron. I know!"

"She's hurt. Very hurt—"

"—I know—"

"Just try ok. Life at Hogwarts will be hard next year."

Days like that would repeat over and over again. Hermione would either never speak to him or shoot him Malfoy-worthy smirks. The days to Hogwarts loomed closer and closer. He half wished to go and half wished to stay at the innocuous Burrow to avoid all gossip at Hogwarts.

_This year, this year. It's all going to change this year. _Harry thought to himself in bed. He quickly fell into a terrible sleep, dreaming about all the scandalous drama at Hogwarts and a life without Hermione.

**Thanks. Sorry, this chapter is more subtle than last. But, it's the reflection chapter so…. And please review. Also, could you answer these questions while you're reviewing. **

**How was this chapter?**

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**Thanks. So. Much! **


	3. I want to KEEP HOLDING ON

"Finally! At last!" A bubble of relief showered Harry.

"Merlin's pants, no!" A wave of hatred and disgust washed over Hermione.

He finally cornered Hermione.

"Ow, let go of me, you have no right to do so!" Harry let go of Hermione's forearm. She gave him a look of disgust and started to up the stairs. Harry cowered under her glare yet AGAIN. _It's been nearly 2 weeks. _Harry tried to apologize many times yet she never provided a chance. Whether it's when she ignores him at dinner or switches chores with Ginny when the two are paired together, Hermione seemed to wriggle her way out of sticky situations. Hogwarts is now only a day away. They've already shopped at Diagon Alley and started packing. Tomorrow, they leave for the King's Cross Station. Harry wants to straighten out his apologies before everything turns wired.

_Am I going to let this last chance go? _Harry thought as he stood, rather stupidly, on Fred and George's landing. _NO!_

Hermione stopped on Ginny's landing, turned slightly towards Harry, and hesitated.

Without another thought, Harry jumped the stairs 3 at a time and landed next to her in a heartbeat. He grabbed her wrists just as she started to whirl around. She stopped and turned back toward him, her face almost an inch away. Her once sorrowful eyes turned stone cold.

"Hermione please." Harry whispered, his voice cracked.

"No." But she didn't leave.

"I was angry. I still am, I'm angry with myself. If I can take that half a word back, I—"

"Leave it. Your pitiful speech means nothing to me." The moonlight from the window lighted the fire in her eyes. She stared hard into his emerald ones, piercing his heart. She only gives this look to Malfoy when he challenges her. They stayed like that for a minute then she started to turn around.

Hermione implied that Harry's fallen face would have loosened his grip. But, Harry still kept an iron hold.

Without turning, she growled.

"Get you filthy hands off me."

"Hermi—"

"Treat me like a Mudblood and I'll treat you like a Malfoy!" She screeched.

Harry let go as if her wrists were on fire.

"Hermione?"

"You heard me!" She started up the stairs. Harry's surprise quickly melted into anger.

He raced around and slammed her against the wall, locking hands on either sides of her. She narrowed her eyes at him.

"You need to hear me out! Please!"

"Get off of me! Don't you dare touch me!" Hermione struggled and shouted at the same time, ignoring everything Harry said.

"Listen to me—"

"—Aren't you afraid to soil your clothes from touching me? HUH? I bet you're going to take a shower after this, aren't you?—"

"Listen to me. Hang on, WHAT?" He slammed her against the wall again. "Listen to yourself!"

"Argh! So what? Now you'd risk yourself getting dirty and you're taking it out on the wall! You'll only get dirtier from a constant hold of me, you know that right?"

"Hear me out and I'll let you go!"

She ignored him and continued on her frenzied rant.

"Or is that something that Malfoy hasn't taught to you yet?" She let out a cold, un-Hermione like laugh and threw her head back.

"What? Have you two become best friends now? Huh? Is that what's going on? That's why you wouldn't talk to any of us right, when you first came? Of course, I should've known."

"JUST HEAR ME OUT!"

"I SAID NO!"

"Enough is enough, Mione!"

"Don't you call me 'Mione! And get off of me!"

"LISTEN FIRST!"

"NO!"

"HERMIONE—"

"THE GIRL SAID NO!"

Harry and Hermione stopped struggling against the wall and turned their heads. Hermione looked for her savior, Harry looked for their interrupter.

Harry suddenly realized how close the pair of them is, with him pressing her tightly against the wall. Slowly, he backed off.

It was Fred and George, standing tut on the landing of their rooms.

The four of them stood there in an uncomfortable silence, not knowing what to say. It was Hermione who shattered the silence.

"The girl? Best idea you guys came up with?" There was a hint of amusement in her voice. It was a shock to Harry who only heard her cold one recently.

"Look, Harry. " Fred started, looking at him. "I know we're tight—"

"—but we—" George jumped in.

"—we as in the entire household—" Fred added.

" –don't want anyone to get hurt."

"—like physically—"

"—or knocking things down like Mum's old vase collection—"

"She'll definitely blow her cap off on that one!"

"Thanks, Fred, George. I owe you on that one. But I don't need you guys to fight my fights. I'll call you guys anytime but if it's Harry, I can handle it." She smirked at Harry before turning back to the twins.

"Anyway, thank you."

"Anytime, anytime." Fred replied and winked at her.

She blew a kiss at them before glaring at Harry and stalking up the stairs. _Wait, did she just do what I thought she did? _Harry arched an eyebrow at her walking figure than back at the twins.

_No! No way! No, no, no! Not happening! _Harry stood there frozen on the stairs as the twins scurried back in their rooms.

_That's just totally, absolutely, and in all other wise, inconceivable!_

He wanted answers so he did what any boy would do: follow her.

He pounded on her door.

"Hey, we're not finished yet, Hermione! We're not over! This is not—"

She opened the door.

"Jeez…there's absolutely no privacy over here!" She shoved him and ran down the stairs and out the door.

Harry contemplated about following after her. He wanted to talk with her so badly that it almost hurts not to. But he knew with her temper, he'd better let her cool off.

He spent the next half hour staring through his bedroom window at a cross-legged girl sitting in the yard. Was she thinking about him like him vice versa? Was she thinking of the coming school year like Harry? Was she thinking about what happened between them this summer like Harry?

Finally, Hermione stood up and dusted off her bottom from sitting on the ground. Harry perked up. She turned around and gazed through his window, not a glare but a wistful gaze. She suddenly realized she was looking at him and turned back around.

Harry took this chance and clambered down the stairs and out the door to meet her in the cold night air.

At her side, Harry paced slowly with her strides into the grassy fields in silence. She didn't have the usual coldness radiating from her but a comfortable amicable aura like the old times.

"Why?" She asked softly aloud.

He choked on his answer that he planned out so meticulously before. Her voice sounded sad almost regretful. His answer seemed too rough. So he just answered, "I don't know anymore."

She ignored this and kept walking. After a while, Harry looked back and he saw only a silhouette of the Burrow. Hermione's voice rang out into the air again.

"Why? Why me? Why now?"

He kept walking and ignored this question. He suddenly realized that she stopped and turned around.

No one stood there.

He looked up. No silhouette of the Burrow anymore. _Wait…what's going on? _

"Hermione?"

"Why?" Her ghostly voice rang out into the crisp night air again, echoing hauntingly.

_Bloody hell. What happened? What's going on?_

"Hermione!"

"You said you wanted to talk. Now, you're not answering me! If you're not saying anything then I'm leaving!" Hermione cried with frustration.

"NO! Wait, stay! Hold on, where are you?" Harry looked around profusively.

Silence. _ Would she really leave him behind?_ Then, slowly a hand, not connected with a body, stretched out from Hermione's voice.

"Take my hand." She urged in a familiar calm tone.

He took her hand and walked forward, back toward the house. Suddenly his vision focused again. Hermione, in front of him, arched a brow.

"Wha—?" Harry started but Hermione cut him off.

"Protection boundaries. We've walked too far. Let's head back since you're in no mood for talking anymore. She strode for the Burrow.

"No, wait—"

"Then, ANSWER ME!" She whirled around, flipping her hair to one side.

"What do you want to hear? All this time, I've tried my apologies but apparently, those don't work. What else am I suppose to do?"

" Are you asking me for what I want to hear? Harry, I've missed you ever since you came to the Burrow. You're not the same person I bade my goodbyes on Kings Cross Station. You became a completely different person. I wish I could say that I know you. That day that I came up to your room, I wanted to find out if I actually can still call you a friend that I knew well. A close friend. A best friend." Hermione stepped toward him slowly until she could almost touch his nose with hers.

"I can't." She whispered.

Those two words massacred Harry's heart, tore it into pieces, fed it to a paper stripper, grounded it to mush and shot a bullet through it. He wanted to wrap his around her and hold her tightly. He wanted Hermione back.

But he didn't. He just stared back in silence. They stared at each other for a moment longer. To Harry, it seemed like they gazed for more than just a few minutes, maybe hours, or maybe even days. All his wanted is to stay in the pool of Hermione's eyes. He poured all of his apologies,, his want, his love, his grieving, into that stare. He hoped that she would understand. He saw her eyes softened as the time elapsed. He didn't want to break contact and just wished to stay like that forever….

But apparently, Hermione thought differently. She broke away first and turned toward the house. But not before Harry saw a singly tear dripped from her eyes.

Then, it happened.

_Hermione's POV_

It must've been minutes, days, years, CENTURIES even, before we lost eye contact. Until I lost eye contact. I couldn't stand it anymore. I could feel Harry's want for me, his apologies basically radiating from his body. At one point, I wanted so much for everything to be normal again between us. At one point, I wanted to run and jump into his arms. At one point, I accepted his apologies and ceased the firy tension. But I didn't. For the next split-second, a slideshow raced in front of my eyes. It consisted of the first time Malfoy used the word the word in my second year and the atmosphere tensed. I knew it was bad but I didn't understand. It consisted of the good times that me and Harry had. It also consisted of a replay of the fight Harry and I had recently. It felt like the end of the world. It felt like I died. It haunted me. So I decided to turn away.

As soon as I broke away, I regretted it and a single tear fell from my eyes.

If only I spoke up, acted upon instinct, the rest of the year would've been completely different. For the rest of the year, I would've been Harry's friend.


	4. OH NO SHE DIDN'T

**Heeeyyy! I'm back…I'm sorry. School started soo…it's tough to try to do everything at once. It's different from the summer when I have time. Now, you'll have to bear with me. **

**Disclaimer: the same old, same old.**

(Back to Harry's POV)

BOOOM! Spells lighted the air. Cries arose from the Burrow and gleeful yelps sounded from the fields. Harry ducked as one deadly looking yellow light streaked near him, pulling down Hermione's arm as he went.

"But the protective spells!" Hermione cried as a collection of stunning spells collided just where their heads were three seconds ago.

"They aren't working properly apparently!" Harry half-whispered, half-shouted. He clutched Hermione's wrists. Screams of gleeful Death Eaters echoed all around them and lights streaked across the night skies, especially green ones.

"Do you have your wand?" Harry asked urgently. She feverishly shook her head.

"Well, I do. We need to—"

Then, they heard Bellatrix's voice quite near them. A boil of anger corrupted inside of Harry. That. Bi'atch. Killed. Sirius.

"So the Order is still cowarding in that hut they call a home? Hiding, eh? How very….dissapointing."

"Do you want to raid them, m'am?" Another raspy voice sounded nearby.

Silence.

"No. Lure them out is better. Do your specialty, Alfonso. We need to start a commotion." Bella ordered and then added. "This party is getting boring anyway."

A moment later, Harry felt the cold air turned hot. He peeked from the grass tops and almost topple backwards from shock. A Death Eater, most likely Alfonso, raised a ring of fire around the house. His stomach lurched when he saw a person jump out from behind the flames, launching spells at the Death Eaters. The person quickly disappeared into the safety, in the grass.

"Is that—?"

"Harry! Move!" Hermione whispered urgently and lead him swiftly through the grass.

"Ginny! She escaped through the flames! She's out in the fields!"

"What!"

"I saw her! C'mon, this way."

Harry backtracked the path, blindly trying to find Ginny. Suddenly a Death Eater jumped in from of them.

"LOOK, THAT'S HARRY PAAH-"

"STUPEFY!"

"THE BOY IS OVER THERE! THE BOY! THE BOY!" Voices of the masked man's comrades popped up everywhere. Spells of all kinds rocketed their way.

"Duck!" Hermione threw herself aside as a yellow ball of light streamed her way and lighted a patch of grass on fire.

Suddenly, everything catched on fire.

"Aguamenti! Aguamenti! Hermione help me!" He cried frantically.

"Harry, I don't have a wand!" Hermione wailed. He cursed under his breath.

"Move, Harry! Go!"

"There they are!" The previous Death Eaters voice sounded nearer. More spells created a collague in the air. Purple, green, red—you name it. One almost hit Hermione but Harry knocked her aside.

They ran in the darkness; Harry feared lighting his wand would alert his position.

"Wait," Hermione pulled his arm to pause. "I hear someone."

_Swish, swish…pause…swish, swish..pause._

"Shh…"

Harry turned a 360 circle. The grass swayed all around them as if taunting them. Suddenly someone jumped in front of them. Harry whipped out his wand. He found himself, wand to wand with Ginny.

"Oh thank Merlin, Harry. I was scared to life that I couldn't find you." Ginny started, dropping her hand.

"Isn't anyone from the Order here?" Harry asked looking at the blazing Burrow.

"Remus and Tonks. But that's it. No one could jump the fire. I was lucky."

"Ok. We need a plan." Hermione commented. "It—DUCK!"

An ambush of red and green lights collided above just where their heads were three seconds ago.

"RUN!"

But there's nowhere to run. The Death Eaters trapped them in a corner. Harry looked around. Maybe 10 of them, more or less.

Behind them is the Weasley's barn and broom shack. They slowly advanced on the trio. Harry and Ginny held their wands out with Hermione sandwiched in the middle. Hermione whispered furiously to Ginny who nodded. Then, she leaned toward Harry, her eyes never left the advancing Death Eaters.

"The broom shack…" Hermione was saying. "On a count of three, start blasting curses everywhere."

"And then?"Harry whispered back, eyes never leaving the taunting band in front of them.

"I've got that covered. One—"

She nodded to Ginny who nodded back.

"—Two—"

Harry gripped his wand tightly.

"—Three, NOW!" 

All hell broke loose. He felt Hermione freed from him. He couldn't see or think. Cries filled the air. Spells and lights whirled around him.

"STUPEFY! STUPEFY! PETRIFICUS TOTALUS!" (Ginny)

"EXPELLIARMUS!" (Harry)

" AVADA KEDEV—" (Death Eater)

"STUPEFY!" (Death Eater)

"OPPUGNENTIUS!" (Harry)

"CONFRINGO!" (Ginny)

"AVADA—" (Death Eater)

"AVADA KE—" (Death Eater)

"STUPEFY!" (Ginny)

"AVADA KEDEVRA! AVADA KEDEVRA!" (Death Eater)

"SECTUM SEMPRA!" (Harry)

It was like dancing between raindrops. Harry missed about a millimeter from death every time. He could see that Ginny barely survives each swerve. The green lights, yellow lights, red lights—they all blinded his vision.

Where's Hermione?

Out of the corner of Harry's eyes, he saw a bushy haired girl swiftly dashed into the broom shack. WHAATTTT?

He cannot believe what he just saw. Did Hermione just ran for her life ditching Harry and Ginny to this suicide mission? Did she just ran into hiding? Wait, WHAT?

Harry felt a surge of power and anger. HOW CAN HERMIONE DO THIS TO ME? I THOUGHT SHE WAS MY FRIEND! SHE BETRAYED ME! SHE DITCHED HER ME TO HIDE IN A BROOM CLOSET AND LEFT ME AND GINNY TO DIE! AAAHHH!

Harry's spells now double in power. His emotions wired his magic and now his spells splits into 3—stunning 2 in front of him and one fighting Ginny.

"STUUUPPPEFFYY! AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" Harry saw that his particular spell spits into 5 and wiped out the remaining Death Eaters and also caused Ginny to duck as one streaked right at her!

Suddenly it was all over. The hauntingly quietness seeped back into the night. But for Harry, blood rushed to his brain and his heart pounded in adrenaline.

Harry fell to his knees, contemplating on everything that just happened. Ginny rushed toward him.

"Harry. Harry. Are you alright? Are you hurt? Harry?" Ginny panted and pulled him upright.

"I'm fine!" Harry's brain couldn't function, his mind was too overblown.

"Are you sure? You seem a little pale…"

"I SAID I'M FINE!"

Ginny stepped back a little but then regained her ground.

"Did you see Hermione?" Wrong question.

" Did I see Hermione? Are you asking ME that did I see Hermione?HELL YEAH, I did—"

"Shh…sh…it's alright. I know, me too, Harry. Let's get back to the Burrow and explain what happened to the rest of the family."

As Harry traipsed back to the Burrow, his mind is still blinded with the image of a frightened Hermione escaping into the broom closet. Harry turned back and looked. No one's there. So where did Hermione go?


	5. I believe I can fly part 1

Chapter 5-I believe I can Fly

Usual disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Hermione rushed out of the shack, clutching a broom.

"I have to do this. I have to, I'll regret it if I don't." She murmured as the adrenaline drive to protect her friends powered her on the broom. She apparently, temporarily, forgot about her fear of brooms.

Or not…

_Oh god, oh god_. She trained her eyes on her grip on the broom as she advanced forward. _There's no turning back now._ With a confident push, she flew right into a failing battle.

She swerved and dived; she pushed and shoved; she rammed and charged; she dodged and flipped. The battle—Death Eaters and Harry/Ginny—is not even sure what hit them. They are too busy fighting each other.

…Which is not Hermione's point.

_C'mon, c'mon. Come to me. Follow me, FOLLOW ME! _Hermione rammed straight into a DE, snatched his wand and spiked another through the throat with it.

_Good aim._ She congratulated herself while doubling back into the fight, zooming with her fullest speed possible.

She grabbed another surprised DE and chucked him at others. The rest of the DEs turned their focus and started after Hermione. There were no signs of Bellatrix and her pyromaniac friend. Harry was busy, creating some massive spell power.

_Tsk, tsk. He must've drunk some of Fred and George's SuperPower Potion. _She thought as she swerved and dived from attacking spells at her.

_Uh oh! So…what do I do now?_

In order to escape the flood of spells at her, Hermione quickly swerved and flipped and dodged and halted and turned and -

"AHHHH!"

One of the spells caught the back of Hermione's broom and caused it to shoot straight upward!

Suddenly, the realization of Hermione in the air drained in. Frozen in fear and still ascending, she tried to steer yet nothing worked. The spell locked her in place…or was it fear? Below her, the crowd laughed.

Suddenly, one by one, the crowd of 5 took flight. They flew alongside her, throwing spells, taunting her. She couldn't swerve or dodge anymore so she flipped upside down to avoid curses.

"AhhhhAAHH!"

She screamed as a spell jerked her broom to a stomach rumbling stop. Then, it started ascending again, slower this time but still ascending.

"Petrificus Totalus!" One cried and before her instincts reached her brain, the spell hit squarely in her chest.

She slumped forward, tipping off.

_Oh god, please don't fall. Don't fall, don't fall. _

The Death Eaters laughed and taunted with her. The tilted her broom upward, downward, sideways and back. Hermione was completely petrified with spell and fear.

_Aaaahhh!_

Her heart pounded faster than her blood could work. Her pulse raced faster than ever. Her stomach rumbled and jumbled harder than a washing machine. A headache formed in her head and racked her brain. Is this the work of a spell?

Abruptly, it stopped.

She panted on her broom, hair flying all over the place and on the verge of vomiting. Tears streamed down her face. She had been unconsciously crying.

But all the while, she made no noise.

The flying Death Eaters were howling with laughter. One sent a Killing Curse her way. It missed her by a hairbreadth. She could feel the heat stinging on the back of her neck.

Silence.

She was still frozen but she could still look sideways. No one's there. Everyone vanished.

_Hah! They probably thought I died on the broom. And eww…that's not very pleasant. Huff! Now what do I do?_

She waited. Still slumped forward and petrified, she watched as she passed clouds and lone birds, halting every few feet. She watched helplessly as frost formed on her fingers, hair and eyelashes. She slowly felt tired and drained of energy. But she knew to keep her head up and energy saved. She could die right here, right now if she falls asleep.

She shuddered mentally at the haunting thought of no one finding her and dying of hyperthermia and hunger, forever ascending upward.

But she reassured herself. _Be sensible, Hermione. _She told Ginny of her plans so someone was bound to rescue her. In time, hopefully.

"Where's Hermione?" They gathered in the living room, all eyes on the two survivors.

Harry stayed quiet, fuming silently. Just as Ginny opened her mouth to speak, Bill, Tonks, Remus, and Mr Weasley rushed into the house.

"Gone, all of them gone, not one single person stayed behind, not even the supposedly dead people. Jeez, Harry, how did you slaughter everybody and hide them at the same time?" Bill panted, leaning against the wall post.

"It—"Ginny started but Harry interrupted.

"I don't know what happened but I felt angry. Really angry. Suddenly I felt a power surge and my spells exploded everywhere."

Ginny looked furious. Harry was confused. It was true! Remus looked worried.

"Harry, dear. Are you sure that wasn't Voldemort's anger and power surge?" He asked.

Harry remembered the image of the silhouette of Hermione running into the broom shack.

"No. I'm pretty sure, the anger was mine."

"NO!" Ginny spoke up. "It was Hermione! She flew on a broom and the entire crowd followed her!"

"FLEW? AS IN COURAGEOUSLY SAVING US?Yeah, right, Ginny. Are you sure you're ok? HERMIONE COWARDLY FLED! THAT'S WHAT SHE DID!" Harry shouted.

"Harry! Control yourself! Your best friend is missing!" Remus snapped at him.

"She should be back any second now anyway." Ginny added calmly, clearing ignoring Harry.

So they had nothing else to do but wait. Ron stood by the door. Tonks and Remus patrolled the fields. Bill stalked across the room. Mrs. Weasley forced some hot soup down Harry's and Ginny's throats.

And waited. Ginny stood by the door now. Mr. Weasley, Fred and George patrolled the fields. Bill, Tonks, and Remus whispered quietly at the table. Ron sat next to Harry who stared hard at the ground.

He thought of Hermione. His clouded anger disappeared but his reasonable grudge lingered. He half wanted to never see her again but the other part of him worried for his 5 yeared friend. She's been through so much with him and she absconded from mere Death Eaters. SHE WAS THERE AT THE MINISTRY! SHE HAS BEEN THROUGH WORST!

Then he thought of the Death Eaters. Did they kidnap her? Will they torture her? Will they taunt her? Will HE mess with her mind? Can she take it? Will HE just kill her? A sudden fear washed over him. What will they do to her?

They waited until-

"OK, STOP! We need to do something. We need to find her. Right. Now."  
>Mr. Weasley rushed in just as Bill rose from the table. It was almost midnight and Hermione hasn't returned for nearly 2 hours.<p>

"I was thinking the same thing." Bill said. "Search the skies? Ginny mentioned a broom." 

"Or the fields. She could've fallen. She never was a great flyer." Ginny added.

"Alright, fliers. I need fliers in pairs." Remus ordered. All hands rose up. "And field-searchers."

All hands descended. Remus sighed.

"Mrs. Weasley, would you mind staying home just in case she comes back?"

"Of course." Her face appeared stricken with worry.

"Alright." Remus turned back to the crowd. "Guys, this is not a game. We only have 5 remaining broomsticks. The others are in no condition to fly. I'm going to have to pick. Don't judge me."

"Fred and George, Tonks and Harry, and-" 

"Me!" Ginny stood up.

"You fly well?"

"Course. I subbed for seeker last year." And that finalized the fliers. The field searchers are Mr. Weasley, Bill, Remus and Ron. Ron commented, "She couldn't have hung on for more than five minutes."

Just as the gang followed out, Moody appeared.

"Heard the news from Molly. While on my way here, I crossed paths with the same bunch of Death Eaters. They are some new ones, quite easy to torture news of them. Granger girl, ain't it?" He gruffed.

"Yes." Replied a grim Mr. Weasley. "Might as well search the grounds with us. We have no more brooms."

"Nonsense. I brought my own. Granger is strong; she's definitely hanging on somewhere up there." His blue eye rolled up and behind his lids.

Moody let out a low whistle. "My, my. She's up there, quite high." His eye rolled back down. "I have a general direction. My vision clouded up with distance. Northwest, ladies—"

His eyes swirled at Ginny and Tonks.

"—gentlemen—"

He eyed the sullen twins.

"—Potter."

He turned toward Harry.

"Ginny! You're with Nymphadora. I'm flying with Potter!" Moody gruffed. "On the count of three. One—"

Everyone clambered on their brooms. Moody summoned and positioned on his tailored broom.

"—Two—"

"—Three! OFF!"  
>The flying team rocketed off the ground.<p> 


	6. I believe I can fly part 2

Chapter 5 part 2—I believe I can fly

Usual disclaimer: Chill, I don't own anything. Stop freaking out.

As if the cold wind blasted sense into him, Harry regretted saying that he never wanted to see her again. Despite the time of the harangue, Harry felt better when he acknowledges that Hermione is just there. He can't just live without her.

Yes, he made up his mind. He and Hermione can fight as much as to their delight, but she has to be there in his life! She just HAS to!

"A lot on your mind, son?" gruffed Moody through the ferocious winds.

Startled, Harry glanced sideways. Moody's electric blue eye whizzed around dizzily but his normal eye stared at him.

"Err…yeah. It's just Hermione and I…well, we aren't on the best of terms right now. You see, Hermione was wandless during our battle. She ran for cover, leaving Ginny and I to the 10 Death Eaters. We were screwed. She knew that. I knew that. They knew that. Yet, we escaped. Anyway, the point is, Hermione ditched us, after all we've been through! I thought, I thought—"

Harry breathed heavily and tried to dictate the right words.

"I thought that maybe, just maybe…I know this sounds egotistical. But I thought that she would die for me as I would for her. Maybe I'm thinking this all wrong—"

"No. Granger is smart. She is strong; physically, mentally, and faithfully. She must have had other reasons. Hmm…has anyone told her that she ought to pursue a career as an Auror?"

Harry grinned.

"Yeah. You did actually, Moody. My fourth year? Well, no. You-you didn't. It was Barty Crouch Jr-You that recommended it…"

The pair drifted into an awkward silence. Harry knows that this is a twitchy subject for Moody when Harry's fourth year is recalled.

"So, "Harry started again, flexing his fingers on his broom. The cold atmosphere seeped through his clothes. He wondered how Hermione could stay on in such a weather. Or even if she's still in the air?"

"…I'm so confused right now. I feel like I'm betrayed—"

"SHH!" Suddenly, Moody rammed into his broom. A large calloused hands wrapped around Harry's mouth.

"We are being watched, followed, and surrounded. Fly straight forward, wands out. Now. Follow me."

Harry looks around the clouded atmosphere. He sensed no one but it's Mad-Eye. He felt the hand leave his face and Harry obeyed orders.

**********************  
>"Yo, Fred, how long have we been up here?" George asked his twin.<p>

"About a couple hours. It's 3:30am." Fred lifted his jacket sleeve to glance at his watch. "Man that Hermione better be up here. If not, I'll kill her when we do find her."

George suddenly slapped Fred in the arm. "There." He directed.

Fred looks forward.

"No, up you idiot." George pointed up.

Fred looks up. A darker figure evolved from the foggy darkness.

"Lum—"George started to light his wand when Fred cut him off.

"Don't! It may be Hermione or a Death Eater. Wands out, Georgie."

Georgie. The name that Fred calls George whenever Fred's nervous.

The twins rose quietly on their brooms. Advancing toward the figure, the twins quickly deducted it either is Hermione or a polyjuiced potion Hermione.

They finally arrived at the bushy girl's side. He eyes were closed and her head lay on her broom. Ice dripped from her hair, sleeves, eyelashes, and brooms.

"Lumos."

"Lumos."

"Hermione, hey, hey—"Fred lightly shook her. "Hermione, c'mon, wake up, Herm—"

Suddenly the brooms shot upward.

"Whoa! Whoa! George!" Fred launched forward to catch up with Hermione.

"C'mon!"

"After her!"

With both twins being Quidditch players, they easily caught up to Hermione as her broom suddenly halted, almost jerking the poor girl off.

"Fred! The broom's jinxed! That's how she's up here—"

The broom rocketed upward again.

"FINITE INCANTATEM!" Fred aimed perfectly at the broom and it halted. They zoomed toward her.

"Jeez, she's freezing!" George felt her hands.

"Whoa! She better be breathing! Bloody hell, Fred! She IS breathing, right?"

"She better be or else Mum would think we did something to her. Pepper up Potion, George?"

"Nah, better. The waking end of a Puking Pastille." George fumbled with one of his pockets. "I feel sorry for the poor bloke who swallowed only the vomiting end." He opened Hermione's mouth ad slipped the pill inside.

"Tilt her head back."

(Hermione's POV)

Slowly, Hermione stirred. Her iced eyelids fluttered open. The red hair popped out of the darkness.

"Ron?" she whispered. A hearty laugh echoed in the air and slightly warmed her up.

"Ron? You're getting that git confused with me! Now, now, dear. I believe I can say so myself; I am definitely better looking than him!"

She cracked a smile. However, she leaned her head back on her broom.

"I'm so cold."

"Well, let's get you back down first. Meanwhile—"

Both twins donated their large overcoats to Hermione. She felt warm immediately.

"Wait, what about you guys? I can't take this!" Hermione protested.

"Chill, 'Mione. We're fine. Don't worry about this." George tried to reassure her but a noticeable shudder could be seen.

"Hold on, we've got to alert the others. EXPECTO PATRONUM!" A silver coyote leaped out of George's wand and instantly warmed the air.

"Tell the others, 'We've found Hermione and we're heading back now.'" The coyote nodded and vanished at once. The cold slowly seeped back in.

"Now, how far are we up in the air?" Hermione peeked below.

"About 3 and a half hours." Fred replied cheerfully.

Hermione's stomach plummeted. Her fear of brooms once again resurrected.

"Unless you want a side-along apparition, of course—"George asked.

"Yet, we're not fully sure how. You see, we've tried side-along apparition only once." Fred added.

"Yeah, that ended terribly. We tried to apparate Ginny with us to Diagon Alley—"

"But she ended up splinched so badly she looked like a Frankenstein movie!"

Hermione grimaced.

"Right. Taking that into consideration, we'd better get moving. But go slowly on me, please. I'm not fond of broomsticks." Hermione said.

They started descending.

"But you would risk your life to pry Death Eaters away from your friends by flying." Fred smirked. Hermione shot him a furtive look.

They descended quite fast yet somehow Hermione didn't notice. The sky started to lighten and the twins _noxed_ their wands.

"Hey!" Fred shouted in the wind. "About another hour left! We'll be home, safe and -"

A green light rocketed a couple inches in front of Fred. He jolted backwards.

"BLOODY HELL!"

"FRED!"

"You alright?"

"Yeah, man. I'm cool. But, where did that came from?"

"Uh oh."

Another collision of curses sprang all around them. The previous apprehension returned to Hermione. She instinctively swerved and dodged.

"Hermione!"

She sneaked a glance up at Fred. He disappeared into a huge fluffy cloud. Finding safety, she zoomed straight in. In there, Fred and George greeted her in the gray bubble.

"Ugh! It's like being in the shower!" Hermione complained.

"But, they can't see us and we can see them." George said.

"Sure?"

"Positive."

A green light sprang up meters away at a safe distance. That curbed her doubts.

"So what do we do now?" Jump from cloud to cloud." George contemplated.

"No. Too risky. What if the weather down there is clear?" Hermione pointed out.

"Hey! I've got an idea." Fred exclaimed. Hermione arched an eyebrow.

"No seriously. This is good. Remember the fake Professor Moody? Remember one of his quotes was 'Play to your strengths'?"

"And Constant Vigilance!" George added unnecessarily.

"Right, well. George and I are the ultimate Beaters. We'll bounce spells back down to the ground like beaters rebounding bludgers."

"How?" George looked excited and flexed his fingers.

"With that transfiguration spell we used on those Protego Hats! We'll use it on our wands. *_Transfiguration Spell*_! "

Fred transfigured George's wand to a Beater's club. George did the same with is wand/club.

"Wait, wait, wait! Hold on, what about me? I cannot play quidditch! I do not play quidditch! I cannot fly in general! " Hermione intervened.

"But you're doing pretty well, darling." George drawled.

"You can be like a Chaser. Pretend you're holding the Quaffle and all you do is dodge and get to the other end without the other team stealing the ball. In this case, when the other team steals your ball, you're dead with a spell. We score we touch ground!" Fred said.

"C'mon, let's get this game going!" George urged.

_Game! _Hermione thought uneasily. _This is a life and death situation. And all they can only compare this to a mere quidditch game! _

"Wait, wait, STOP!" Hermione tried to get her head together. She glanced at the boys. Both are poised downward, ready to zoom.

"Are we going fast?"

"Oh, baby, we're going to go so fast that you'll need to bring your A game to keep up." Fred winked. George high fived him. A sense of girl power revived Hermione.

"OOHH! I'll BRING it, alright!"


	7. Grenade

Chapter 6—Grenade

"I would take a Grenade for yah…but you would not do the same…"

Everyone returned back to the Burrow. George informed them through the Patronus that they had found Hermione. Yet, it was almost seven o'clock and there was no sign of the twins nor Hermione.

Suddenly, Ginny jumped, squealing. Harry almost received a heart attack from Ginny's outburst. He jumped to the window.

She had her arms around Fred and George while hopping on one foot and laughing. Harry experienced another pang in his chest, remembering that is how Ron, Harry, and Hermione usually are.

"Hermione!" Everyone rushed outside to embrace her. Harry followed them cautiously. He didn't know how to react. Mad? Or Relieved?

(couple of minutes before)

"Hermione, you're a pretty good flier." Fred commented as she stumbled her landing.

"Really, I didn't even know what I was doing half the time." Muffled Hermione on the ground.

George lend out a hand. She took it but stumbled from a red hot pain from her ankle.

"Ow! Yeesh!" Using George as a support, she felt her ankle. "Sprained."

"That's ok. Mum could fix it up in a spiffy. But in the meanwhile, you should consider Chaser this year, Hermione." Pursued Fred as he helped her limp back to the Burrow.

"No. I'm terrible. I'm scared of flying too."

"You didn't seem scared back there! And you just have a couple of blemishes. Other than that, you have natural talent. You're natural and talented! Plus, Hogwarts will need as much talent as they can get without Fred and I there." George added.

"Well, technically, you didn't play last year either." Hermione countered.

"But we were there in spirit."

"No, seriously though," Fred started again. " During our free weekends, we'll come over and teach you if you want. You're going to be a Chaser, Hermione."

"I don't know. It wasn't part of my plan to start Quidditch…" Hermione doubted.

"Live spontaneously, Hermione. Have some fun!" Fred exasperated.

"What about Harry?"

"What about him? Besides, Ginny's there. She's a nice flier too. She'll help you. " Fred said.

"Promise you'll at least think about it?" George asked as a crowd of Weasleys started bounding toward them.

"Owl us." Fred held up his hand in a 'call me' gesture and winked at her. She threw her head back and laughed.

"Promise."

Mrs. Weasley hugged Hermione hard.

"My, you're freezing! Come inside, come inside. Let's get you fixed up." She led her into the house, pushing through the welcoming, worried Weasleys.

"Jeez Mione. You gave us all a scare tonight." Ginny said.

"Mione, is that ice on your hair?" Ron commented.

"Now, now, let's give her some food and get her warmed up. You must be starving, sweetie." Mrs. Weasley fussed, leading her into the kitchen and forcing her into a chair.

"Great job, boys." Mr. Weasley clapped the twins on their backs. Everyone crowded around Hermione and the twins as they gobbled down their breakfast. Only Harry leaned on the doorframe, watching intently on the ravenous girl.

Suddenly he had the urge to charge toward Hermione, beat her up while hugging her at the same time.

The emotion was too overwhelming so he started to head upstairs.

"Wait, Harry." Hermione's voice rang louder than everyone's chatter. "Please." Harry turned around as she stood up and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

"Thank you, Mrs. Weasley. I loved your breakfast. But please forgive me as I interrupt breakfast and talk to Harry for a second." Hermione addressed Mrs. Weasley.

"No." Harry looked up from the floor. "No, there's no need." Hermione narrowed her eyes and stopped mid-step.

"Wha—?"

"Look what happened when you 'talked' to me the first time this summer. Now, last night was the second time we 'talked'. Look what happened there? Everytime we 'talk', one of us gets hurt. I don't want to do this to you, to me, to the Weasleys. " He started to head upstairs again.

"So you just want to leave this situation hanging? You rather have Hogwarts and its drastic rumors to clean this mess?" Hermione retorted.

Harry sighed and stomped down the stairs. He grabbed Hermione's wrists and headed out the door.

"Alright! Let go of me!" Hermione shook off his grip as soon as they obtained enough of listening distance from the Burrow but within peripheral vision.

"So what's our problem?" Harry freed her wrists.

"Hmm…let's see what happened recently.' Hermione started sarcastically. She held out her index finger. "One. Remember YOU blew up at me. You called me a mudblood—"

"Ok, Ok. First error. YOU came to me first. And I technically did not call you a you-know-what. I never finished me sentence so TECHNICALLY you assumed it. You're accusing me of half a word."

"Half a word. Full thought."

"STOP accusing me as if I were MALFOY!"

"Then stop ACTING like one!"

"Me? Look who's talking little Miss Traitor!" Harry blasted.

"TRAITOR?" Hermione's eyes flashed from surprise to hurt to anger. "What did I EVER DO TO YOU?"

"OH FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE. STOP PRETENDING! You almost KILLED ME and Ginny by DITCHING US IN THE FIELD! Now if I DIDN'T SAVE GINNY AND I FROM LAST NIGHT'S DEATH EATERS—"

"Oh ho! So it was YOU who drove away the Death Eaters now, is it? And is was ME who betrayed you all and ran? Since when did your hobby was to change stories? Yeah, this is what I'm talking about—your EGO!"

"Not this again." Harry rolled his eyes.

"Your STUPID, VAIN, FREAKING SENSELESS GLORY immediately presumes you a position higher than anyone else! BECAUSE. YOU JUST. HAVE. TO. BE. THE. HERO. So presumably, you were outraged when I saved the day last night—"

"YOUSAVED THE DAY? YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME! YOU WERE WANDLESS THE ENTIRE TIME!"

"SO WHAT DID YOU THINK I WAS DOING UP IN THE SKY THE ENTIRE NIGHT? HUH? PARTYING WITH A BUNCH OF OWLS OTHER THAN RESCUING YOUR FEMININE ASS?"

" I DON'T KNOW AND FRANKLY, I DON'T CARE!"

Hermione took a deep breath. "Okay." She rested her forehead lightly on the tips of fingers. "Okay."

Suddenly she started to laugh. Hysterically. She tilted her head back and stumbled backwards from laughing.

Harry narrowed his eyes and waited for Bellatrix or someone to morph in from this crazy Hermione.

She slowly walked up to him, until their noses are almost touching, ceasing her laugh.

" I was right this entire time. From the time you arrived all the way down to your resemblance to Malfoy. You know what?" She threw out her arms fearlessly.

"You know what?" Hermione continued. "I thought you were my friend. But now, I can just SEE you and Malfoy together behind my back. The whole 'Good Harry' is just the face, isn't it? I bet you secretly call him your best friend and mock me as a mudblood behind my back. Now your true colors are coming out, aren't they?"

"I'm NOTHING like that twisted GIT! But YOU, HERMIONE—NOT ME, are starting to act like him. I tried to apologize right from the start. I tried to right my wrongs. YOU NEVER LET ME! You said I never explain. Well now I am! At least I am TRYING! Are you even remotely helping? No!"

"It was a mistake." Harry continued. " Everything was a mistake. Coming to the Burrow was a mistake. Imprisoning myself in my room was a mistake. I shouted at you was a mistake. Everything that happened this summer WAS A FREAKING MISTAKE! I should have never let Dumbledore, take me here! And hah! To think, before I actually LOOKED FORWARD TO COMING HERE! I cannot believe that YOU OF ALL PEOPLE CAN DRIVE ME BACK TO THE DURSLEYS! THE DURSLEYS!"

Those words stung. Painfully. She dropped her head to restrain her tears from falling.

No, this cannot be happening. This cannot be happening. Hermione thought over and over again. She heard Harry panting from his outrage. _What have we done?_

Suddenly she felt as if her body and mind diverged their ways.

"You're right. It was all a mistake!" Hermione matched his tone. _No! Stop! Stop talking! _Hermione's head started to contradict everything she started to say.

"All of it was a mistake!" Hermione stared straight into those once beautiful now harsh green eyes and her mind screamed and pleaded to not say her next words.

"BUT THE BIGGEST MISTAKE WAS BECOMING YOUR FRIEND!"

A flash of emotion clouded Harry's adamant eyes. Hermione stumbled backwards at the realization of her diction.

Suddenly, Harry enveloped her in a bone-crushing hug. She stood there, statued and stone-faced, numb from surprise. She felt his tears running onto her shoulder. Instinctively, she wrapped her arms around him too.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't –" She whispered but Harry interrupted her.

"FROM HERE ON OUT, THIS IS IT! NO MORE OF A HARRY, RON, AND HERMIONE! I DECLARE HERMIONE AS NO LONGER MY FRIEND! WE WOULD REWRITE HISTORY AND THEREFORE YOU NEVER HELPED ME AT THE MINISTRY!

"YOU NEVER GAVE ME THE MURLAP ESSENCE! YOU NEVER HELPED, CREATE, NOR LEAD THE DA! YOU NEVER HELPED ME ON ANY OF MY SCHOOLWORK OR MY OWLS!"

Those words ripped Hermione's heart. _Fine. Two play at this game! _

" ALRIGHT! THEN, I NEVER HELPED YOU THROUGH THE TRI-WIZARD TOURNAMENT! I was not the person whom you learned ALL YOUR SPELLS FROM! I was not the person who stayed with you until PAST MIDNIGHT WORKING TO KEEP YOU UNDERWATER! I WAS NOT THE PERSON WHO STAYED BY YOUR SIDE THE ENTIRE YEAR!"

Harry continued. "HERMIONE GRANGER WAS NOT THE GIRL WHO HEHLPED SAVE SIRIUS WITH ME! SHE WAS NOT THE PERSON WHO SAVED BUCKBEAK WITH ME! SHE WAS EVEN NO THE PERSON WHO HELPED REPEL THE WATER OFF MY GLASSES DURING THAT QUIDDITCH GAME!"

By this time, Hermione's tears dried up. But her heart cried out an ocean with millions of knives. Harry continued down the timeline.

"She didn't risk her life for Harry Potter and didn't become petrified in trying to find information on the basilisk. She didn't run up to me and hug me after she was petrified!" He shoved Hermione off but kept a hold of her shoulders. He glared directly into her eyes.

"Alright. Go on." Hermione challenged in a surprisingly calm voice. "Are you scared about talking about your first year? Or you don't remember? Go on, go on."

"Hermione Granger was never Harry Potter's friend! She never helped him on schoolwork! She never risked her life for him and she had never stayed by his side!" Harry tried to shout but the realization of the status quo chocked him to tears.

Hermione however, picked up where Harry left off.

" BECAUSE SHE WAS NOT THE PERSON THAT HELPED HARRY POTTER GETTING PAST FLUFFY OR TEHE DEVILS' SNARES NOR THE LOGICAL POTIONS PUZZLE! SHE NEVER AFLAMED SNAPE'S CLOAK AND KNOCK DOWN QUIRRELL! HARRY POTTER HAD NEVER SAVED ANYONE FROM A TROLL! And NEVILLE HAD NEVER LOST HIS FROG AND HERMIONE GRANGER HAD NEVER MET HARRY POTTER ON THE TRAIN! BECAUSE SHE WAS NEVER HIS FRIEND IN THE FRIST PLACE!"

They stared at each other for a long time, gasping for breath. Realization hit them as they admit silently that there is no turning back. Harry stared into her eyes one last time, his regretful ones meeting her equally horrified ones. Then he slowly turned and sauntered off toward the Burrow.

Hermione stood there, heartbroken. Sinking toward the ground, she started to cry. She crouched down, disappearing in the midst of the tall grass. And cried. Silently.


	8. Not Afraid

Chapter 8— Not Afraid

"I'm not Afraid,

To take a stand,

Everybody,

Come take my hand,

We'll walk this world together,

Through the storm.

Whatever Weather,

Cold or Warm"

-Eminem; _Not Afraid_

Hermione slumped into the empty prefects compartment. It's the prefects' break and everyone else, including Ron, grasped this opportunity to visit their friends. Hermione decided not to go to visit Luna and Neville with Ron because of the awkward tension with Harry.

Harry and Hermione hasn't spoken a word—absolute silence—since the last "talk". The last couple days flew past quick and the Weasleys were more concerned on the journey to Hogwarts. But of course, there was the empty silence between Harry and Hermione here and there. Hermione felt it's almost like she lost an arm without Harry there. Harry was Hermione's right-hand man and vice versa.

Without Harry there is not normal. There were times where she just wanted to scream into the loud silence that separates the space between them. Most of the time, Hermione wanted to apologize and make up.

She wanted it to stop. She wanted everything to stop. She just wanted everything this summer to be erased; as if none of this ever happened. The perfect apology would surface to the tip of her tongue whenever Harry appeared. Her heart urged to admit her wrongdoings and just become friends again. She wanted it soo badly.

But the apologies never came.

Her throat would choke up and no sounds would come out. Hermione stood her ground. And it seemed like Harry stood his ground too.

Hermione could see, or maybe she's imagining it, that Harry wanted to friends again too through his eyes. She could see the slight change of emotion in his eyes whenever they made eye contact—harsh to pitiful to sad to harsh again.

But she stood her ground. And he stood his.

She had her own concerns with Harry; but to the rest of the Wizarding World, there were bigger issues. Two months ago, Neville, Luna, Ginny, Ron, Hermione, and Harry broke into the Ministry of Magic based on Harry's perception of Sirius's capture. Of course, Old-y Mr. Vold-y planned it. So the entire Wizard community is scared out of there tits that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is back. To Hermione, the Ministry intrusion seemed ages ago. But to everyone else, it is the fresh horror movie.

On the train, she decided not to visit Neville, Luna, and Ginny's compartment. She planned to stay in the prefects compartment the entire time. Nothing fun happened though, not without her gang—Neville, Luna, Ginny, Ron, and Harry.

Except for that new professor. Professor Slughorn.

_A little while after the train rolled out of the station, Hermione had patrolled the aisles as part of her duties. But her mind was a little pre-occupied. A group of seventh years had to break her train of thoughts because they were bullying a group of third years. She stepped in the dispute but the Slytherin seventh-years kept pushing to her limits. Hermione was already pretty annoyed from her own thoughts at this point. She threatened the tallest Slytherin with an ancient Macedonian spell she read somewhere. Apparently, at the wrong time and at the wrong place. The new professor, Professor Slughorn actually stood right behind Hermione all this time. _

_The seventh years realized that he was a teacher and started cracking up. Hermione stood there horrified that the new teacher would punish her. To her surprise, he asked her if she knew the spell and its counterspell. _

_Hermione had nodded._

_Even more adding to her surprise, Slughorn had asked Hermione to perform it. That had shut up the laughing seventh years. Hermione was speechless but performed the spell anyway on the seventh year. _

_The inner organs of the guy turned inside out. Disgusted by the sight, Hermione instinctively performed the counterspell to undo it. _

"_That is particularly excemplary job of this ancient traditional jinx. Most adults could not have executed this spell as well as you have." Professor Slughorn clapped loudly as the seventh years stared with horror at the new professor. Did he just promote the usage of spells as punishment? Hermione was confused too. _

"_Miss…?" Slughorn continued._

" _Granger, sir. Hermione Granger." _

"_Miss Granger,I'm your new professor. Professor Slughorn. In order to know my students more better , would you mind coming by my compartment later around 4 and have a mid-train snack?" He asked while the seventh years are still there, goggling._

_He suddenly acknowledges their presence and simply waved a hand to them. Shoo, shoo. Hermione agreed but cautious whether it's a trick or something. Still, she showed up and she met a couple of other scared, surprised, or sullen people. Neville and Ginny were there. Cormac Mc Laggen, Blaise Zabini, and Marcus Belby were also there. And Harry was there._

_It wasn't particularly awkward—actually no, there was still the sense of awkwardness there. Slughorn was more than overjoyed that almost half the group of children who invaded the Ministry were in his compartment. He did most of the talking. _

_And that's how the Slug Club was created_

*BAM*

The compartment door slammed open and Hermione looked up.

It's none other than Draco Malfoy and his posse.

Hermione sighed and rolled her eyes. On the outside, she wanted to appear calm and collected as possible. But frankly, she was a little apprehensive since she wasn't with her usual gang.

"What do you want, Malfoy?" She asked the question straight-forward.

"I'm a prefect, thank you very much. I'm allowed here." He said.

"What about your friends? They are not. I'm not sure if they can even comprehend the word prefect." Hermione glanced at Crabbe squinting around. " Hey, do you think they even know they where they are?" She asked with sarcasm, tilting her head as if with a genuine question.

Malfoy ignored this. "What about your friends, Granger? Did they finally realized how much of a loser you are and ditched you?"

"No."

" You know," He continued, "I usually would never applaud Potter. But ditching Granger calls the need for some acknowledgement." He claps lightly while smirking.

"No."

"No? Then, what are you doing here? All by yourself? Lonely?"

"You know what, Malfoy. Get out. You have no life."

Malfoy tilted his head back and laughed. "Me? No life? Look at you. Dumped by your friends. And you're calling me with no life."

"Look at your friends, Malfoy. They equal as much as none. I bet a dog could outsmart Goyle."

Goyle clenched his fist and stepped forward. Inside, Hermione flinched but on the outside, she merely raised an eyebrow. Malfoy glared at Goyle and Goyle stepped back in line.

"Well, Granger." Malfoy said, turning back to her, "When you said dog, I hope you weren't counting animaguses. That wouldn't be fair, would it?" He smirked, knowing that he had hit home.

Hermione felt like he just punched the wind out of her. Did he just-he just said—NO. WAY.

"Mark. My. Words. Malfoy." Said Hermione once she regained speech. "You are going to pay this year. I don't care how much trouble it takes. You are going to wish you did not just say that."

Malfoy smirked. "You're bluffing. Granger, I know you. You've got nothing on me. Besides, you are too much of a coward, too much of a teacher's pet, a goodie-two-shoes to even think about fighting me."

"Malfoy. Get out. Get out now." Hermione stood up. " You don't know me anymore. That bookworm, teacher's pet, goodie-two-shoes is gone. She's changed."

Malfoy laughed and motioned his gang to head out.

"And for the record, Malfoy. Potter didn't dump me. **I. ** _**Dumped. Him. **_"

Right before he closed the door, Malfoy heard this and stopped laughing and stared at Hermione for a long time, slightly confused.

Malfoy's face left the door. Hermione turned around and sat back down. She exhaled a long sigh. She didn't have any more moments of peace since the prefects started to file back, getting to prepare for arrival. And then suddenly, Hogwarts came into view.

"Where's Hermione?" Ginny asked Ron as they both sat down in the Grand Hall, waiting for the usual First Day Feast, Speech, and Sorting, "We didn't see her throughout the entire train ride?"

"Where's Harry?" Neville asked. "We saw him right before the train arrived."

"Harry, I don't know. But as for Hermione—oh wait, here she is." Ron scooted over as Hermione came striding in and plopping down next to Ron.

"Hermione, where were you al l this time? We didn't see you all day!" Neville exclaimed. "Do you happen to have seen Harry?"

Hermione sees Ron giving her a side-glance, as if apprehensive that she would burst into a fit or something at the sound of his name. But Hermione appeared collected as she shook her head.

"Nope. Sorry guys. I was really busy with some prefect duties. I did meet the new Professor though. He took up most of the time since he seemed really interested in the prefect's duties and I felt obliged to inform him."

This wasn't entirely true but Hermione had to come up with some excuse. She didn't talk to Harry anymore but she still wanted to stay friends with everyone else.

"Wait, but didn't the new professor come to this school? So wouldn't he know about the prefects system?" Ginny asked. "And was this before or after the meeting with Slughorn?"

Oh crap.

"Yeah, I thought that was weird too. But maybe the system changed? I'm not sure. And this was before the meeting with Professor Slughorn?" Hermione lied.

"Slughorn?" Ron asked.

"The new professor. Remember I didn't show up back to the compartment for a time during the train ride? Slughorn wanted to call a meeting with a couple people. Hermione, you were there? And you too, Neville?" Ginny replied.

"Right." Neville said. "That Slughorn sure is something. He's just way to jolly for my taste."

"Shh.." Hermione shushed everyone. "It's Dumbledore speaking."

After the speech and the sorting, Harry still hasn't shown up. Although this was a little intriguing, Hermione spent her time wisely and caught up with everyone and their summer. She knew that once Harry had shown up, she would've needed to leave.

Midway through the feast, she saw Harry with Snape straggling through the doors. Time for her exit.

"Hey guys, I just realized. I need to…pee. Yeah, I need to pee. See you guys back in the common room." Hermione said abruptly and left the table. She looked back and saw Neville and Ginny stare at her as she walked away.

She was about to walk through the grand doorway when someone grabbed her arm.

"I need to talk to you."

Hermione exhaled loudly in pure frustration but didn't turn around.

"You know what. Just shove it." Hermione squeezed her eyes and use the rest of her remaining courage to continue. "You're not going to talk to me. I'm not going to talk to you. Let's not make this harder than it is, Harry. We're done here. You called shots remember. And now you want to make up in Hogwarts, of all places. No. we're done, Potter."

"Well, well, well, didn't think I'd see the day when Granger goes against Potter."

Hermione's heart stopped beating. That's not Harry. That's…

She whirled around.

_Malfoy._

"Feisty."

Hey guys,

I'm sorry for the long period of time with no updates. I'll try the best I can these next couple of chapters because I really want to get into Hogwarts and its dramas but I cannot make any promises. I would like your help too. Remember that ancient Macedonian spell that turns human organs of the body inside out? Would you guys want to help me create a spell for that? Submit your spells in the review section. It's something about Human organs turning inside out. If you don't want to create a spell, write a review on your favorite spell so far and I'll tally up whose spell is liked the most. I'll add it in my story and it'll be accredited and disclaimer-ed to the author of that spell. Question? Inbox me.

Thanks for all the reviews. I hope I can keep writing.


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